Edge smoothing and sizing tool



May 15, 1956 M. A. JOHNSON EDGE 'SMOOTHING AND SIZING TOOL Filed Dec. 4, 1951 IN VENTOR v .MWA/[JMW ATTORNEY United States. Patent This invention relates to a tool for finishing the edge of worn rubber-encased conveyor belts. In the coal mining industry particularly,v extremely long and quite wide conveyor belts are provided f or transporting coal from the face o f .the mine tothe entrance, and from the entrance Ito the tipple, or other` These belts are laminated fabric struc-v desired point.

tures completely encased in rubber. The belts run over guide, rollers VwhichA are arranged to hold the ,belt in trough-shape, and at spaced intervals vertical side-guideI rollers keep the belt in propertransverse valignment. Belts of this type are quite expensive and the cost of maintaining spare belts is prohibitive. The belts are subjected to extremely rough usage, and frequently become torn from sharp pieces of slate falling upon them, and from the jagged, heavy loads which they carry. Both edges of the belts have the rubber worn completely away, andthe fabric becomes badly frayed. l

In the past, little attention has been given to the worn side edges, the belt only being repaired when breaks or tears had Vbeen made in the body of the belt. As the belts are -in use in the very damp atmosphere lofthe mine, the exposed fabric absorbs moisture and the entire fabric becomes saturated. This greatly acceleratesdeterior'ation. Even when-the -belts are repaired, the' side edges are merelyv trimmed to cut away the vfrayed por tions, and the beltsput back in use with the fabric exposed at the sides. v

The only means for recovering the side edges now known to the industry is to vulcanize new rubber over the edge portions. This is too expensive to makethe operation economically feasible.

An object of the invention is to provide a tool by means of which the new coating may be uniformly distributed along the edge and feathered off to exactly coincide with the upper and lower faces of the belt.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a practical embodiment thereof, when taken in connection with the drawings j which accompany and form a part of this specification.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a diagrammatic view showing the steps of the proposed method for using the invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the new tool showing it in position upon a belt, and its manner of use in refinishing an edge thereof;

Figure 3 is a section through the belt taken on the line 3 3 and showing the working face of the tool;

Figure 4 is an end view of the tool; and,

Figure 5 is a medial section through the operative head of the tool and portions of the handle, and is taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Referring to the drawing in detail, and first adverting to Figure l, there is diagrammatically shown the four steps which comprise the edge refinishing method for use of the present invention. These steps comprise passing the belt through a dryer, trimming the frayed edges, applying new coating material to the edges, and dressing it p ice down to a uniform coating matching the original tective covering. t

As previously mentioned, the belt comes from the mine with the-laminated fabric structure Wet from the danking it at asuiciently high temperature to` dry out all.

of the moisture without harming the belt. After the belt is thoroughly dried out, the edges are trimmed yto remove the frayed portions and to provide straight, parallel edges.

When these preliminary steps are completed, a syn-v thetic vrubber compound, such asthat sold under .the

trade-name .neoprene,'is mixed with the usual accelerator to cause drying and the raw edge of-the belt is coated with it. The edges ofy the belt are rst coated.-

with two applications of neoprene cement which vwill more readily adhere to rubber lthan does neoprene compound and to which neoprene compound'will then moregreadily adhere.l The material has somewhat the to. insure a good coating completely covering ,the vertical raw edge and the `top and bottom horizontal surfacesA near the side edge'. i ,After a short length of belt has had the material `applied to it, approximately fifty tosixty feet, the material is then shaped by drawing througha suitable die to smooth upk the coating and to make itof uniform thickness for kthe length of the belt. f

The belt so repaired, when the edge material has cured,

will be completely sealed against moisture, and will have all of its original flexibility.

.A vtool 1 for smoothing the ycoating to a finishedledge. i

isshown inFigures 2 to 5-; T he; tool comprises a trowel- .ing diehead 2, and a substantially triangle handle 3. llVith)r the exception of the head, the tool4 is made oftubular material, crushed at points where the bends are desired.

The handle has a sectionI 4 angularly disposed with r e.` i

spect to the head and in continuationv thereof, a section andto 4thehead and vdisposed perpendcularly tothe head.

The head of the tool is in channel form, having a slightly arcuate back wall 7 and the side walls 8 and 9 which lie parallel to one another throughout the major portions of their depths. The open face of the channel is disposed away from the handle. The free end of the head, that is that end opposite the juncture with the handle portion 4, is sized to exactly tit the belt which is to be repaired. In other words, the parallel portions of the side walls are spaced apart the thickness of` the belt. As belts of several thicknesses are in Ius'e, several sizes of tool will be necessary.

For a short distance from the free end, the sides of the channel are parallel when viewed from the face of the channel, as in Figure 3. From this point back to the juncture with the handle section 4, the channel sides diverge. The back wall 7 also follows a straight line rearward from the free end of the head tosubstantially the same point where the side walls begin to diverge, and from this point the back wall curves away from the plane of the straight section in the direction of the handle and merges with the angularly positioned handle section. The free end of the head will be the trailing edge of the head when the tool is drawn along the belt edge. Therefore, as the tool is drawn along the belt the rough coating previously applied to the edge will first contact the inclined side and top Walls of the head. These inclined walls will act very much in the nature of a trowel to smooth out the coating and bring it down to the thickness necessary. When the belt passes through the straight Patented May 15,

andparall'elportions'of:thechannel, the coating will be accurately-sized to feather into ythe-stop --anclfbot-tom-'-surd f coating at the` eXtreme*A edgebutf featherrth'avcoating off to=the exactithiclkness ofthe-*originall where-itmeets theI originalY surface.

The'free endfof the head mayabesupplied iwith afstitfeningememberlgif "desiredi Thel member ltl'ofbeavy material will be welded"oreotherwise-*secured"toithe back anelsideI wall-"s of" therchannel'toA prevent anyjspreading',

of-"th'el channel walls when-"in use:

isilonger 'than--thef other. The lon'gerside isagainsbthe bottomvofithebelt when in use: The voperator may smoothv Out'any` portion of the-y coatingj which'n is!v beyond the reach ofI theupper *wall of the channel; butas it is dicult to-sseefbeneatlr thev beltwhile working uponitJ the under side (1f-fthechannel" is `made -sucieutly wide to be sureA that =all4coatingmaterial on'th'el underside` will' be worked by-the tool:-

'In operation, the tool-isslipped overthe edge ofthel beltf-'as-fslrown inFigure-Z' andpulled along *in the directh'ehead offthetool approximately asshownA bythe y'broken lineinFigure 5. That space at the-rear of'the head beyond the edge of the belt and adjacent the-'juncture withl thejhandle; as indicatedat 311,l will serve'as` areservoirjto offexample-aridchangesmay bemade fromthe precise"l disclosure within the scope ofthe appended claims.

WliatY is claimed is: vvl' A'tool'for smoothing'a coating upon an edge `andy two adjacentl sidel surfaces of'ilexible strip material to" frm--the= coated' strip touniform" thicknessn comprising,

ahead and f af handle-of'tubular-stock,v said'V headbeing` a=continuation of oneend of* said handle vand theother end-of said handlef'secured to said head 'intermediate'the" The materialwill ballup'Within-this space" ends of said head, said head being an elongated member which is U-shaped'havingfaback wal-lfand"l spacedside5 walls, the end of the head adjacent said one end of the handle being the leading end in use and the Opposite end the trailing end, the side walls being parallel adjacent the trailing end and diverging toward the leading end and said back wall being at adjacent the trailing end and Haring upwardly. toward the leading end, the

diverging sidewallsandllpwardly flariugtback wallforming between them a chamber for excess coating material.

2. A tool for smoothing azcoatinguponwanedge and two adjacent sideA surfaces of ,flexible sheet material to form acoated'material of'uniform` thickness comprising, a head portion and'a,.handle,1portion; said head portion being in the form of a channel having a back Wall and spaced side walls to embrace an edge portion of said strip material, with the side walls spaced apart a distance equal tothedesired thicknessof the strip material being workedupon, ysaidside walls being parallel throughout a portion of their-lengths and diverging with respect` tofone'another'for theyremainder'of their lengths, the. parallell'sectionbeingjat that end'of the head which forms the ytrailing end when the tool'is in use, saidpback Wall' having a-atsection lin the region of the parallel sections. of'the' sidewallsand curving outwardly from the planev ofthe 'at sectioniin theareav of the divergent side walls, and abracefmember-securedto the back and side walls ofthe headinearthe' trailing end'thereof to hold'rthe' channel tor predetermined shape.

Referencesl Cited #in the-#tile of f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS .AIJ 

